but the Suze Orman show makes me so upset sometimes when watching it. When it comes to the savings and retirement portion. I feel like I am hardly making it on my paycheck. How will I even save up money for retirement and personal savings. I do not have a husband to split the costs with and I have huge student loans. I put a minimal amount away each month and it seems that by the end of the month I have to go into that savings to cover another bill, gas, or something and then it is empty again. Never fails. If you are single how much are you able to save every month or for anyone how much do you think should be saved? Again I do not want to get in anyone's personal business so you can just give a round about figure. I am getting close to 30 and have nothing in the bank to show for it.
If you're not even thirty yet, you still have some time. Just do what you can. Single people do have it hard. I teach private music lessons and play in a group that does wedding. I make alot of extra money that way and have tried to put that into savings. The problem is that this year I had to pay huge amounts in self-employment tax. I ended up owing so much after having my taxes done that the tax person went over everything about three times to make sure it was right. I am a substitute teacher and have to pay for my own medical insurance so I don't make much and was surprised that I had to pay that much. I have a little bit of savings but it's more for emergencies than retirement. That will have to wait until I get a full-time teaching job. Does your school give you some kind of retirement? Before setting aside money for retirement though, I would try to pay off the student loan. My mom listens to Dave Ramsey on the radio and I think that is one of his top priorities. Good luck!
Well, we pay much more than necessary on our home loan each month. It's a fifteen year note as is, which makes the payment higher, and we pay an additional several hundred monthly toward the principle so we can have it paid in full well before the fifteen years. So we are focused more on getting rid of debt (it's the only debt we have) than saving. I realize that's not the ideal approach for everyone, but to be honest if something horrible happened to us financially we could depend on my husband's father for assistance. We have about (okay, no one else is telling, so I feel stupid doing so)in our checking account (no separate savings account) and a couple other healthy long-term accounts that I'm unsure of in regards to exact current totals. I know what you mean, though, in that she can come across a bit harsh in the savings department. You just do what you can. If you were desperate to save I'm sure you could cut more (the Internet, for example), but you may want to feel a little more established before focusing so much on the future and I understand that. May not be perfectly logical, but I do understand.
Joy my loans are so much that it would be impossible to really try to lower them at this point. I am only able to pay the min each month which is like 325.
If you open an annunity (I did with my insurance agent) and hav it taken out before taxes (as long as you don't use it before a centain age). Easy and it will not make a big difference in your check. I started with 25 dollars and went to 350 dollars...each pay raise I would do 25 more...talk to the payroll clerk.
We're struggling with this too, VA. And we're married... and have been for 6 years. It just seems like it's ALWAYS something that comes up. I've read one of Suze's books and she says to put away 6 months emergency fund and THEN pay off all debt and THEN buy things like house, et. But we would never make it. We paid down 'most' of our debt and now we're saving for a house. It's all we can do, ya know? We have REALLY cut down on extra spending -- I'm doing meal planning, coupons - we're not going many places on the weekends - but it's kind of crummy, lol. Anyway, you're not alone. Good luck!
A great course to take is Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. It goes through the steps to get out of debt. I have been trying to implement the strategies...I needt o get back on track and get my 1000 bucks saved up. I would look into it! He goes over retirement and savings, also.
I started with trying to save $1000 and now I put away $400-500 a month. Luckily I only have about $100 in student loans, and my car is paid for, but I am paying for my masters on my own. I scrimp through the month and pretend like my savings is not there. I am pretty fruggle, I don't have a ton of clothes and I really struggle to let myself buy new shoes, I really think about my purchases. I understand the school loans though, they add up quickly and can really restrict your budget.
When I was 30 I had zero in the bank. Less than zero. Now I'm almost 50. If I wanted to, I could pay off my house tomorrow. Let's just say it gets better.
We're in the same boat, trying to pay off debt and save some money. It always seems as soon as we get some saved something happens. However, I know someone mentioned this we both have money taken out of our checks for retirement, and we can't touch it without penalties. It's not a lot but it is nice to see it adding up.
I'm a lot like you! I'm single, young, and only have one income. I do have a bulk of savings though. You say you don't have much money to spare after bills and student loans, but how often do you get paid? If you get every week, could you put away twenty dollars? Or if every other two, could you put away forty? If so, you could save $80 each month. So, that's $960 a year. Now, that's not much, but it's more than you would have had. You could put it away at the bank so it could generate some interest. Not much, but it would be a start. And if you put away a bit more than eighty, or maybe even every time you have an extra dollar or two, it could really add up. You'd have to swap some things in return though (darn trade offs!). Maybe eating out twice a month or something else that eats up your money. I'm not sure how tight your situation is budget wise, so is the amount of money I suggested you save is the difference between you eating or not eating, then don't do it! But making little changes here and there could save you a bit of money. Someone else suggested it, but part time gigs do help. You could tutor or do something school-related. Then once you get that money, throw it away into your savings. Pretend like it doesn't exist. I do home health after I leave school (my part-time job) and I just place that money in the bank and forget about it. I don't touch it for any reason. Lose change is an awesome secret;; it quickly adds up. If you see any lying around, throw it in a piggy bank or a jug. It grows and you'll eventually forget about it. Once you cash it, that could be $30-$200, depending how full it is. Once again, I don't know your situation, but it seems like you live from paycheck to paycheck. But that doesn't mean there's no hope in you getting some kind of savings. It may not be as large of a sum as you want it to be, but it can be something more than you had.
I'm getting off to a late start w/ my career, so I have yet to really save up from a job, but I do have money in accts, CDs, etc. already. I like Orman & she's got good info, but w/ her Can I Afford It? segment, I feel she's a litle harsh. Yes, if you follow what she says, you'll be doing good, but, I personally would have gone ahead & bought some things that she would have denied. Yes, it's great to have money saved up, but sometimes, you have to buy what you want because life's too short not to!
This is interesting...my mom was just harping about this to me (again). My parents are really good with money and are very responsbile with saving up. They've never had any debt even though when they were first married they practically lived on pennies. My mom is always telling me that the one thing she feels she didn't do right was start saving for retirement earlier. She is always talking to me about it and I'm only 23! I have a second job a few hours a week that earns me a few hundred a month after taxes about 7 months out of the year. I also made a couple thousand from teaching ESY this summer. The money for those jobs goes directly into savings. However, I did have to dip into that a couple times this year to pay for flights home. Honestly, I pretty much end up spending my entire "regular" check. After taxes, I make about 2100 a month. My rent/utilities is about 1200, and the rest goes to gas, groceries, gym, cell phone, internet/cable, social things, etc. If I didn't have my second job and ESY, I wouldn't be able to save anything. I am also very fortunate that my car and college are paid off (although my car insurance is absolutely outrageous- I need to look into getting something cheaper).
Ask around at your school. Find out who other people are using for their retirement fund. Around here a lot of people use AXA or Kades-Margolis. They can help you set up a 403b. They will sit down with you and look at your finances and help you come up with a number that you can afford. I started mine at $50 a month - $25 a paycheck - and I never even noticed it. Plus it comes out before taxes and many times your employer will match it to a certain amount. You will be surprised at how easy it is to just save a little, and it will make you feel a little better. The small amount will add up fast, and having it taken out automatically will make you not even miss it.
My bank has a program called round-up savings where every time I use my debit card, it will round up to the next dollar and put the difference in a savings account. I don't notice the money gone, but it has helped me save anywhere from $20-$40 a month with no effort. I "save" every time I pump gas, go to the grocery store, etc. (It's not the only money I have in savings, but it helps bump it up.)
To answer a few questions asked: I get paid once a month. So that is hard making that whole check last the whole month. I am looking for a part time job. I do put some money away in a personal retirement fund that I can not touch and my job has a retirement plan. but I am not able to save money in case of an emergency that I CAN touch. I am always going into it. Off to look on craigslist for a job as usual.
It's not as easy as putting money away (i.e. in a savings account) though, if you really want to look at it in a practical way. I mean, you definitely want to sock it away. But the problem is that you are saving in a depreciating currency. Given the level you are at, you want to find something small and easy, that you can build up over time. Heck, buy a silver coin every week. At the end of the year, you'll have 50 or so. (If you did this let's say in 2008, SLV was somewhere in the low/mid teens... ~$15/oz. Today (2011), SLV sits at around ~$40/oz. It will have almost tripled in that span. For the record, GLD has effectively doubled in that time.) And it's easy to do: probably just go to your local coin shop, buy a Canadian or US minted (or any country for that matter) coin, and sock it away every month. Meanwhile, the dollar has lost value. And it will continue to lose value (i.e. credit rating, debt ceiling). So it's not just saving $, especially now. Your $ savings will get CRUSHED. This decade will witness some crazy things happening in our economy and consequently people's finances. The last thing you want to be holding in all this, is dollars.
My mom always told me to have a certain amt of the paycheck taken out & put away, so you don't even see is or miss it.
I feel your pain. I am single, almost *gasp* 40, and have very little savings left! I really live paycheck to paycheck. It's rough, but I don't have any credit cards, lease my car to lower monthly payments, and don't go out much. I work two jobs, and just keep plugging along. Even worse, I work for the Catholic Diocese and have really, really crappy retirement! I may never have enough money to retire, but I LOVE my job so I try not to think about it much...
I hate living paycheck to paycheck and I hate having to think that the only way I will make it and live better off is if I had a husband to split things with. What if I never get married or do not want to get married. I don't want to have to rely on a guy.
I am single also. I will be 30 in December. This will be my second year as a full-time teacher. Before this, I was working in a full-time position in a lab for 8 months. Between 1999-2008, I was in school full-time and was surviving on stipends, loans, and credit cards. So, I build up a lot of debt. I told my boyfriend that I am not looking for a man to pay off my debt (I can be very independent and stubborn). I wanted him to know my financial history. He pays me for minor jobs that I do for his business. I have a lot of student loans which repayment has started to kick in this month. I hope to get most of loan forgiven in the next 10 years if I can stay in middle level teaching for this period of time. If I don't stay in middle level teaching, I will probably find a job at the college level which depending on the college/university, can pay 50,000 to 90,000 for entry level work. Or even more depending on if I go into science education or animal science with my Ph.D. I get 2400 a month. I moved closer to school to save on gas and rent. However, my car insurance went up because of the area that I chose to live in. I have 5 credit cards that I would like to be paid completely off. I have a 5-year car loan. I try to have a little bit of spending money. However, to cut back, I ask myself- do I really need this or would I like to put the extra money to pay off my debt? This has helped me a lot. I take any extra money that I have to pay off the credit card with the highest rate. This credit card will take a year to pay off. Then, I will use the extra money that I was using for the high interest card to pay another credit card with less money on it. Should I pay the next high-interest card? Yeah. But it would make me feel better to pay off the next credit card with the smallest balance. I goof sometimes and spend too much. Usually I take things back or cut back on something else. You just have to do what's right for you, what makes you feel good, happy, and successful. Life is too short. This is what I recommend: 1) Study financial tips from different sources. 2) Pick what is best for you. Or pick and choose to create an unique plan suited for you.
